Why do Jews eat meat and dairy separately?

Answer 1

Dairy products and meat products are cooked separately. Fish, with fins and scales are "neutral" or "parve". This tradition dates back to biblical times when the Lord said not to blend or cook a calf or kid in its mother's milk.

Separating fish and meat is by Rabbinical teaching, not Torah-verse.

Answer 2

The practice of not eating dairy products with meat comes from the Torah-prohibition: "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk" (Exodus 23:19).

The reason for this prohibition is that seething a baby goat in its mother's milk was done for idolatry in ancient times (Maimonides).

Now, why do Jews not eat ANY meat with dairy when the mitzvah is so specific?

In Jewish practice, there is a tradition called 'building a fence around the Torah'.

What this means, is that, in the Torah, there are many mitzvot, like the one

quoted above that are specific. However, there is the possibility that a person

can accidentally violate or appear to violate the mitzvah in question.

In regard to the prohibition against cooking a young goat in it's mother's milk,

once meat is prepared, it's hard or even impossible to tell the difference between

different types. Also, there is the possibility that we might accidentally end up

eating a young goat that was cooked in its mothers milk thinking that it was a

different type of meat. As a result no meats of any kind (including poultry) are

cooked in milk so that it doesn't appear that we're violating this mitzvah or that

we unknowingly violate the mitzvah.

The fence was taken a step further by prohibiting the combination of ANY meats

with ANY dairy products, including cheese. The logic behind this is the same (so

that we don't accidentally or appear to have violated the core mitzvah).

In addition to the verse in Exodus cited above, the same five-Hebrew-word

prohibition appears in two more places in the Torah, a seemingly glaring

violation of the Torah's usual economy of words and lack of repetition.

The additional two statements are interpreted as prohibitions against the

preparation of meat and milk together, even if one doesn't eat the resulting

dish, and against the realization of any profit or benefit from such a preparation.

Answer 3

This is to avoid any possibility of "seething" a kid in the milk of its mother, meaning to cook the meat of one animal in the milk of that animal's own mother which the Torah tells us is an abomination to G-d. The Talmud then interprets this as a ban on cooking any meat and milk together, or eating such a mixture which is known as basar bechalav - this rules out cheeseburgers and certain candies which may contain both dairy and gelatine - as the rabbis who created the Talmud could find no reason for this rule, it is designated one of the Chukim - those of the 613 Mitzvot (commandments) for which there is no apparent reason.

Some people have argued that to do so would be inhumane in Jewish philosophy, just as taking eggs from a nest while the mother bird watches in inhumane according to a law known as shiluach haken. Either way, many Jews take great care to ensure that dairy and milk do not become mixed, keeping two separate sets of utensils and cooking pots as well as using one area of the kitchen to prepare dairy products and another to prepare meat.

There has been little agreement on how long one should wait before eating one after eating the other, though it is generally agreed that consuming meat after dairy is not as bad as the other way round since meat has been believed to leave a residue for some time after it is eaten. Different Jewish communities have adopted different guidelines - most Sephardic (Southern European) Jews will wait six hours, as will many Ashkenazi (Northern European) Jews; but those of German descent traditionally wait just three hours and those of Dutch descent merely one hour. Most rabbis in modern times - including many Orthodox rabbis - favour leniency.

Answer 4

The question displays a misunderstanding about kosher food. Kosher food covers all foods including dairy foods. The separation is between meat and dairy.

The practice of not eating dairy products with meat comes from the Torah prohibition again cooking a kid (baby goat) in its mother's milk. The exact quote is:

"You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk" (Exodus 23:19)

The reason for this prohibition is humanitarian. The practice of cooking a young animal in its mother's milk is cruel and therefore not allowed.

Now, why do Jews not eat ANY meat with dairy when the mitzvah is so specific? In Jewish practice, there is a tradition called 'building a fence around the Torah'. What this means, is that, in the Torah, there are many mitzvot, like the one quoted above that are specific. However, there is the possibility that a person can accidentally violate or appear to violate the mitzvah in question.

In regard to the prohibition against cooking a young goat in it's mother's milk, once meat is prepared, it's hard or even impossible to tell the difference between different types. Also, there is the possibility that we might accidentally end up eating a young goat that was cooked in its mothers milk thinking that it was a different type of meat. As a result no meats of any kind (including poultry) are cooked in milk so that it doesn't appear that we're violating this mitzvah or that we unknowingly violate the mitzvah.

The fence was taken a step further by prohibiting the combination of ANY meats with ANY dairy products, including cheese. The logic behind this is the same (so that we don't accidentally or appear to have violated the core mitzvah).

Answer 5

The questioner's information is inaccurate. Not only do plenty of Jews eat plenty of meat,

but Judaism itself carries no overt prohibition of meat. Indeed, the Torah presents detailed

procedures for the preparation and consumption of meat as an adjunct to the holiest of

ceremonies in the ancient temple.

The questioner should take some time for some reading or some Googling, to dispel some of

his more egregiously inaccurate impressions.

Answer 6

We separate fish and meat because Jewish tradition states that combining the two is very unhealthy (Talmud, Pesachim 76b).See also the Related Link.

Keeping kosher